The WHO - Some progressive elements?

Bring on the Beach Boys...

I think "Who's Next" falls into the area Dick Heath has been promoting for some time, where we should include in the site one off prog or prog influenced albums by bands who are not prog.

Great album by the way, I call that a bargain, the best I ever had! 

Easy Livin wrote: I think "Who's Next" falls into the area Dick Heath has been promoting for some time, where we should include in the site one off prog or prog influenced albums by bands who are not prog. Great album by the way, I call that a bargain, the best I ever had!

Agreed!

It was also so in vogue to have more complicated rock also and everyone tried at it. Outside of Entwistle , although all good players, there were no real virtuoso. Moon was a fabulous player and Townsend also correct but they were too busy putting on a show to be as virtuoso like Mister Cool himself Entwistle. And with Daltrey sending his mike in the lightspots , someone had to keep this tight.

Another thing making this album a little endearing to progheads is that this is the remains of another rock opera called Lighthouse. With Tommy just before and Quadrophenia next , one would have a case for partial inclusion of The Who discography in the Archives. That was three rock opera in a row and if that is no concept albums.....

Emperor wrote: The Who was the band which released the 1st Rock-Opera in the world!

Oh no it's not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And for the umpteenth time of saying)

Townshend acknowledges the Pretty Thing's S.F Sorrow as his inspiration. Keith West almost got in before with Teenage Opera (singles were released but the whole album then took 25 years to be released) -  a project with members of Tomorrow (including Steve Howe). And if the Ray Davis and co. hadn't had legal problems, who knows if the Kinks would have got their opera out first...............................

Townshend's  A Quick One (Whilst He's Away) was recorded at the insistence of manager Kit Lambert, who thought that LP recording was too short, but PT only had fragments of songs to record. By sticking those bits together, Quick One evolved (and let's face it Francis The Mute, with it cut and paste attitudes show Mars Volta have  adopted the same principles making magna opi). Tommy was a significant advance, by cut and pasting whole tunes together. By the time of the Lifehouse project, (from which Who's Next was "salvaged"), Peter Townshend's composition and arrangement skills were considerably more sophisticated. Lifehouse was/is a play with music and originally performed at London's Old Vic Theatre in the early 70's. Eventually BBC Radio 3 broadcast Lifehouse with modern musical accompaniment by Townshend at the end of the 90's. Subsequently Townshend issued a multi-CD set, Lifehouse Project, of the demos, the BBC Radio 3 play recording, CD of classical influences and a double set of live performances of the Lifehouse/Who's Next tunes (some greatly changed in arrangement). If you can afford it  check it out to hear the tunes of Who's Next  (and note some Lifehouse demos ended up on later Who albums through to Who Are You?), put into their original context on the first two CDs of the Lifehouse Project  box set.

Quadraphenia I've long heard as Townshend/The Who doing prog - it is very hard to escape that the rules of prog at the time are being applied, e.g. the long instrumental keyboard tune are prog rock. So again, if and when that section "Bands with  one- or two-off prog albums" is created, this is my candidate album from the Who.

Quadrophenia has some very prog moments. Its one of those albums, like Zeps 'Houses of the Holy' which I think sits comfatably on the cusp between heavy rock and prog rock.

Great album and very good film.

 these guys are prog. Maybe no prog all the way, but I love them anyway. they have the elements of a prog band.

ROCK ON PETE!

RIP Keith